H115i Pro Fans / Standard ML140 Fans

Hi!

 

I've got the dual pack of the standard ML140 fans as my intakes at the moment. I'm planning out a full system upgrade and I'm considering using the H115i Pro. The case I plan on using means the AIO will have to be front mounted intake and my two fans will be top mounted exhaust. My question is whether to swap the fans. I understand the fans with the H115i Pro are fairly low speed and my current ML140s can spin much faster. Would it make more sense to put the faster ML140s on the front rad and use the slower fans on the top exhaust?

 

Also, I've always been on air cooling and am considering trying water for the first time. I'm a bit scared. My air cooler has lasted me 7 years and I don't worry about it because the heatsink can't break and if the fan stops working it's easy to replace. I'm a bit more worried about pump failures and leaks and the like. I understand these are often covered under warranty so is it standard practice to replace your AIO before warranty expiration?

From an overall airflow perspective, that may make sense - you certainly want to make sure that you have a little more intake than exhaust (positive pressure).

 

That said, from a cooling perspective, the additional speed/airflow won't make much, if any difference. The lower speed MLs cool the radiator pretty well and there's only so much heat you can dissipate, regardless of fan speed.

Probably fine either way. They have identical blades so ML-quiet at 900 rpm will move the same amount of air as a ML(Pro/standard) at 900 rpm. The only difference will be the higher max speed of the original ML at 2000 rpm vs 1200 on ML-Quiet. Doubtful you want to run either front or top at 2000 rpm, but at least from a testing or experimental perspective, might as well put the 2000 rpm model on the front radiator.

 

I'd like to tell you your new cooler will last 7 years, but probably not. Most people will change cases, requirements, or a forced change before you get to the end of the warranty. Like many things in this era of manufacturing, as competition increases, the need to get products to market quickly and cheaply increases as well, and with some consequence. If you are thinking of this is as a serious piece of hardware that will last down the next decade, you are looking at the wrong kind thing. For that, you need to get into higher end individual components and all that goes with building and maintaining your own cooling system. AIO coolers are portable, relatively inexpensive, physically durable with a much lower change of leaks compared to a custom system. You can take it off one system and put in on another in 15 minutes. It is most certainly easier to install than a big block air tower and 280mm/360mm sizes will give you better cooling.

Thanks for responses both. I would imagine that the rad restricts case air flow so in order to maintain positive pressure perhaps I should aim for the front to be 200-300 rpm faster than top.

 

I don't like too much noise and this is another worry about going AIO. I am not convinced by 240 AIO as it looks like they compare with high end air coolers for temps but have to get noisy to do it. 280 looks to be the spot where I can get great cooling and still be quiet. Pump noise does worry me but from what I can gather this shouldn't be noticeable on the H115i Pro unless I run max pump speed.

 

2000 rpm is mega loud but in certain circumstances where I feel like really pushing my system I would be willing to go up to 1600 or so.

 

I suspect I've been a bit spoilt but I'm still running on a 2600k system that's 7 years old (GPU aside) so I'm not really used to upgrading!

You should not hear the H115i Pro pump when set at balanced mode. I have to stick my head in the case to hear it. I agree with your 240 vs 280mm assessment. That is the big advantage to the 280mm - no need for high fans speed. I benchmark mine at 1250-1300, so you won't need any more than that. In reality, I never need more than 700-900 rpm for real world use. The only wrinkle for you is the front intake location. If that is the only source of intake air into the case, then its volume effectively becomes the limitation for air exchange. It is possible you might have better overall case results by using a moderate fixed speed when under sustained GPU load. Another option would be turning the top fans to intake. Probably not my first move, but others do this and it may be preferential depending on the case.

The rad will have to be front as cases that take a 280 up top tend to be bigger than what I am after. A moderate fixed speed is fine so long as noise isn't too bad and I'm happy to switch to quiet mode when needed.

Don't even bother with the presets. Use the + in iCUE to add a "cooling mode". This is your programmable fan curve. Also, the fixed % and fixed rpm settings are hidden in there, so this will be necessary anyway.